This sounds pretty bad. How badly does an organisation need to act to get charity status revoked?
UK Charity Commision reports on Moston, Manchester Congregation.
by snugglebunny 45 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
-
-
zeb
Lets hope they have and have to now start paying taxes at least that.
-
darkspilver
slimboyfat: This sounds pretty bad. How badly does an organisation need to act to get charity status revoked?
But it's a catch-22 situation isn't?
If they're not a charity, then the Charity Commission can't investigate.
Surely, in the Charity Commission's regulatory capacity, it is actually in the CC's interests to keep them as a charity.
New online link below
The Civil Society (website of specialist charity related news)
Jehovah’s Witness charity 'badly let down' victims of abuse
https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/jehovah-s-witnesses-charity-badly-let-down-victims-of-abuse-finds-charity-commission.html -
darkspilver
Side note: I can confirm that there is NO coverage of the story in my copy of The Guardian newspaper - I'm really surprised about that. Also NO coverage in the i (Independent) newspaper, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express or the Daily Mirror.
THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWSThis is the main local newspaper. The rather lengthy 940 word ONline version of the story has been somewhat drastically edited down to 350 words for the OFFline (printed) version. The headline has also been completely changed.
ONline: JWs criticised by charity commission over handling of sex abuse case
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/jehovahs-witnesses-criticised-charity-commission-13391368
OFFline, in print: Church paedophile 'questioned' victims
For reference, below is the printed newspaper story/text (full page scan at bottom for context):
Manchester Evening News (M.E.N.) - Thursday 27 July 2017 - Page 4Church paedophile ‘questioned’ victims
Victims of a convicted paedophile were made to attend a Jehovah’s Witness meeting where they were interrogated by the man who abused them, a Charity Commission investigation has found.
Back in 2014, the M.E.N. revealed how three women who complained Jehovah’s Witness elder Jonathan Rose, 43, had molested them as children were forced to relive their experiences in detail as eight other senior congregation members looked on.
The women had wanted Rose barred from the Manchester church.
Following our report, national regulator the Charity Commission launched an inquiry into the church at the centre of the controversy. The investigation concluded that trustees had ‘badly let down’ the women, and makes findings of misconduct and mismanagement against them.
Back in 2013, Rose was jailed for nine months for abuse against two little girls. One was aged five, another aged 10, when he targeted them at the Manchester Jehovah’s Witness congregation he belonged to. A third woman had accused Rose of molesting her 20 years earlier, but he was acquitted.
Despite this history, following Rose’s release from jail, he was allowed to return to twice-weekly services at the congregation.
The Charity Commission has now concluded that the women were ‘effectively required’ to attend a hearing where they had to repeat the allegations in the presence of the abuser, and that he had been allowed to question them.
The Commission has found that the trustees of the congregation ‘did not deal adequately’ with allegations against Rose – and in the earliest case has dismissed the accusation as ‘a matter between teenagers.’ Neither did trustees fully enforce restrictions on Rose, who was seen knocking on doors on behalf of the Jehovah’s Witnesses following his conviction.
Since the investigation was launched however, the charity has improved it’s safeguarding policy, the Commission has found.
A statement from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, he main legal body used worldwide by Jehovah’s Witnesses, said: “For years Jehovah’s Witnesses have had a robust child safeguarding policy. The trustees followed the policy by imposing restrictions on the perpetrator and by ensuring that he had no unsupervised contact with children during congregation meetings.”
I believe that the 2014 M.E.N. article referred to above was the one that was discussed here previously: https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/280119/convicted-paedophile-allowed-grill-his-victims-jehovahs-witness-meeting
Manchester Evening News (M.E.N.) - Thursday 27 July 2017 - Page 4
-
slimboyfat
Maybe it's the police that should be investigating.
-
darkspilver
BBC Radio 4 - Sunday 30 July 2017 - 7.10 to 7.55
SUNDAY - "Jehovah's Witness, Trafficking, Arts & Craft Stained Glass"
The Charity Commission have published a critical report into how the Jehovah's Witnesses managed allegations of child sex abuse at the Manchester New Moston congregation. Kathleen Hallisey a lawyer for survivors and Harvey Grenville, Head of Investigations and Enforcement at the Charity Commission discuss the issues with Edward.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08z97zy
(The radio programme is actually called 'Sunday')
-
Xanthippe
In yesterday's Times report on this, the final paragraph says :-
The Watchtower Society said in statement "All allegations of abuse are thoroughly investigated and appropriate restrictions are imposed on any person who is guilty of child sexual abuse."
So they're still intending to investigate abuse accusations internally without reporting them to the authorities. What does it take to get through to these people?
-
darkspilver
So they're still intending to investigate abuse accusations internally without reporting them to the authorities. What does it take to get through to these people?
In this case that they're commenting on, the perpetrator was known and had been dealt with by the authorities. The main issue that appears to have picked up is how the JWs dealt with it after (the face-to-face JC meetings).
Remember the - reverse - situation happens too:
Courts find alleged perpetrator not guilty - BUT the JW's find guilty and DF.
-
John Davis
darkspilver also in the report it showed that DFing is the only mechanism that JWs have an internal procedure to remove the member. Their criticism wasn't that the congregation investigated it but that there were serious flaws during the investigation and punishment including during the appeal committee.
-
darkspilver
yeah - that's why I said "how the JWs dealt with it" - it's not just the face-to-face meetings but also by the very serious 'conflict-of-interest' issues that where revealed too.
